Edelgard was letting her eyes wander through the crowd of students, standing at the side of the hall while most of the students were dancing with a respective partner. She subconsciously held her hand behind her back while holding a glass of water within the other, focusing to appear as indifferent as possible to the students around her who were either content in watching, or looking for a dance partner themselves.

To her dismay, it wasn't always enough to stop some to approach her regardless.

"Excuse me, but may I ask for a dance?", Edelgard internally groaned as she glanced at the taller student beside her who was offering her his hand, a smile on his face. She recognized his uniform as one of the Blue Lions.

"Pardon, but I don't feel like dancing as of now.", she hoped that her tone was enough to convey the actual meaning within her words, but the young student persisted still.

"May I keep you company then? I wouldn't want to leave you all by yourself, princess.", suppressing a deep sigh, she almost clenched the glass within her hand while her eyes wandered through the crowd once more, stopping at the form of Hubert who was standing at the far corner of the hall, already occupied with threatening the number of students that had approached her before.

It seemed even he couldn't keep all of them away…

Before the student could utter another word, his eyes gleamed for a second in anticipation as she shifted her hand before they fell almost comically, staring at the glass of water she simply placed into his hand.

"... and I wouldn't want to repeat myself."

She stepped past the student who looked after her with narrowed eyes, not sparing another glance at him as she scanned the crowd once more, not catching sight of the person who was on her mind since that whole evening had started.

The entire day she had been looking forward to this event… this had never been the case before, if anything, she could have never cared less about these kinds of social events. But now that she was here, she couldn't help but feel slightly anxious, uncertain even.

Suddenly a thought occurred in her mind, causing her to hasten slightly while shifting her gaze from student to student. What if he was already participating among the dance floor himself…? She had been waiting the entire evening to find him, and maybe, just maybe, she was hoping that…

Her racing thoughts came to a stop once she laid eyes upon him, seeing Byleth standing at the other side of the hall among the other students who were merely watching. He was calmly regarding the others, not having noticed her yet as she stared at him from among the crowd of students.

However, her trance and any shreds of hesitation were swiftly taken away once she witnessed Claude approaching Byleth from behind, and she could practically see the intention in his mischievous eyes.

Byleth was oblivious to either of them before he glanced at Claude out of the corner of his eyes, the latter feigning a surprised expression as if he had just found him by accident. He gave a light bow into Byleth's direction before he approached him with a smile, reaching out his hand towards the other who, in turn, was still surprised at the sudden gesture.

At least, until his hand was suddenly snatched by another presence right in front of Claude's face, surprising not only him in the process.

"Excuse me, my teacher, may I…?", Byleth's eyes flickered towards Edelgard who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere from his perspective, almost ignoring Claude's surprised stare before it shifted into obvious amusement, giving her a wink from behind Byleth.

"Oh, pardon me Edelgard, I didn't know that teach was waiting for you in specific. I'll let you get right to it, then…", it cost her all of her self-restraint not to pierce him with a cold glare as she focused upon Byleth instead, suppressing her former anxiety. She had been looking forward to this the whole evening before the ball even started, and she couldn't have asked for better circumstances… here he was, still unoccupied with any other student…

Byleth, on the other hand, was still slightly taken aback at her sudden gesture. He had been regarding the crowd of students upon the dance floor the whole evening, and he was sure that Edelgard was somewhere among them, hopefully enjoying herself… but he never saw her among them.

Yet, after a small moment of hesitation, a hint of a smile subconsciously appeared on his face.

"Of course."

Feeling almost as if a burden was lifted off of her chest, Edelgard smiled lightly in return before she led him towards the multiple pairs who were moving along with the music, a newfound feeling of joy and excitement now dwelling within her as she stepped upon the dance floor for the first time on that evening, along with her partner.

It was the knowledge that only moments before, she was watching the many pairs with a sense of envy, all the while not oblivious to the stares she received of those who were just waiting to approach her. But now she could actually live out the many daydreams she was having mere hours prior…

Edelgard remained silent, words evading her even though she remained more composed on the outside, before they reached the center of the hall and she turned to face Byleth directly, hesitantly taking both of his hands into her own to position themselves accordingly.

The music seemed to start anew in that very moment and she wasn't sure who of them moved first, but they soon found themselves in near complete sync with each other, dropping whatever remains of hesitation that were still lingering. Truthfully, she knew that her anxiety might have influenced her steps, but she wasn't sure whether or not Byleth was familiar with this kind of thing himself. In fact, she had been prepared to move more slowly, she didn't care in the slightest whether or not they would have stood out from the rest of the pairs.

But he didn't seem to have any kind of problem, either that, or he was quickly adapting. Which… she quickly discarded, for she knew him well enough by now that he wasn't very good in adapting to any kind of situation that was new to him if it wasn't on the battlefield. The mere thought only managed to bring a small smile to her face as they moved along the floor, their surroundings almost completely lost to her in that moment.

"You seem to enjoy yourself quite a lot.", her eyes met his own, and she witnessed the slight carefree glint within them.

"As I mentioned before, I've never been looking forward to these kinds of events… but somehow, it is different this time around.", her eyes evaded his own for a short moment, causing him to tilt his head ever so slightly.

"... in truth, I'm glad to have this opportunity right now, I couldn't have imagined it before…"

"You haven't been among the pairs before?", she met his gaze once more in that moment.

"No, I haven't."

However, the music stopped just then, signalling for a partner change among the already existing pairs, and the students discarded to search for a new one instead. Edelgard felt a tinge of disappointment, yet, once she witnessed the first stares they received from various students, she didn't hesitate for another moment and kept Byleth's hands within her own once he reluctantly meant to take a step back in order to give her space.

It earned her another curious but confused stare from him, but instead of answering his unasked question, she silently urged him to follow her outside. And despite his initial confusion, he allowed her to lead him away from the crowded hall, oblivious to the various disappointed stares he received from other students whose plans of asking him to be their partner were just ruined by Edelgard in that moment.

The cool night air felt refreshing for her, making her aware again just how much she disliked such crowded spaces upon any other circumstances. But since the outside of the hall wasn't entirely devoid of students either who seeked to escape the confines of the main hall, she didn't stop there and silently mentioned for Byleth to follow her a bit further, another destination coming into her mind.

Byleth looked at her expectantly the moment the both of them reached the end of the stairs at the top of the Goddess tower, and it was only then that she finally found the words that had previously been evading her a short while ago.

"Forgive me for dragging you here, I realize that you might like to-"

"It's alright. Is there something bothering you…?", Edelgard heaved a small sigh in relief, glad that she was simply away from the rest of the students, even if it was only for that moment.

"No no, it's not like that. I simply wanted to get away from the crowd for a while.", she regarded the balcony in front of her, a thought occurring in her mind once more.

"Do you know the history of this tower? It is said that if a pair meets here, good fortune would fall upon them."

"I didn't… then again, I haven't been here for too long…", his voice turned more hesitant, and she could practically feel the curious expression he was holding. It hadn't been her original intention to come here, but then again, the moment she had stepped into the main hall and laid eyes upon the many students who were already present, she didn't know how the evening would progress.

Though, now that everything happened as it did, she couldn't complain in the slightest.

"And yet it already feels like you have been with us for a long time. I'm sure the others feel the same way.", a fond smile graced her lips before she turned to face him directly.

"This myth originated from when my father was still a lot younger, and it was this exact place where he had met my mother… you could say that it was love at first sight.", she placed her hands upon the terrace, letting her gaze wander through the many buildings below.

"However, since the Empire demands many heirs, my mother could only settle as one of his many consorts…", her hands gripped the stone more tightly, her gaze turning a little more distant.

"And you are not happy about it.", Byleth's voice tore her out of her trance, and the slight anger within her subsided as quickly as it had appeared.

"I… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to appear that emotional about it. But yes, as it is, marriage among the nobility is merely used as a tool to gain more influence and power, something such as love doesn't hold a place within that old and withered system…", her voice turned more quiet at the end, and she almost whispered the last part to herself.

"... and I despise everything about it…", the words seemed to be stuck in her throat before she merely shook her head slightly, allowing a small smile to show on her face instead.

"In any way, I have never talked about any of this before with anyone. You know, I believe it would be appropriate if you were to share something that you have never told anyone else either…", Byleth's eyes widened ever so slightly once he witnessed the mischievous glint within her eyes, something that he had only rarely witnessed before, and even if, there was usually no one else around whenever this was actually the case.

"Did you ever have a crush before?", Byleth evaded her searching eyes upon hearing that.

"Please don't ask me something like that…", Edelgard studied him for a long moment, and despite her reassuring smile, her expression soon turned more serious.

"You do realize that this only makes me more curious…?", but despite that, there was something else hiding within her gaze, something that Byleth never noticed. However, it was only after a short moment of silence before she smiled at him once more in a reassuring manner, dropping the subject to release Byleth of his current position.

"Forgive me, you don't need to say anything, it wasn't my intention to pry."

"How about you?", her eyes widened slightly in surprise once Byleth glanced back at her in pure wonder, and it only dawned upon her a short moment later what he meant before she averted her eyes, her smile not ceasing in the slightest.

"I don't have any story to tell in that regard… there has never been a case.", her eyes flickered towards him shortly afterwards, and she knew that she should not push the matter any further.

"Anyway, we should probably return now before anyone notices our prolonged absence, and I wouldn't want to prevent you from mingling…", her eyes met his own once more, and the moonlight illuminated the both of them.

"... after all, I can't just keep you all to myself, can I?"

Kaltmacher07: I thank you a lot for taking the time to share all of your thoughts and to leave such encouraging reviews! (Honestly, I wish I could express myself like that towards other authors…) And I have received both of them, I guess it was due to the recent shutdown that the first one didn't immediately appear, as I couldn't read either of them until two days ago.

I appreciate the concern as well, I still love to write for this story, as such, I will take the time to continue on it primarily on the weekends, without neglecting anything else. After all, it is a way for me to enjoy something I like to do while taking my mind off of other matters. With that in mind, I would like to include these small snippets of memories as well, since I didn't explore the time of the two in the monastery days, I'd like to show it in that way. (That, and writing fluff is still what I enjoy the most)

Once again, I thank you for your words. Truthfully, it would be a lie if I said I didn't try to release the previous chapters a bit quicker because I was very thankful. And your concern would never be rude, personally, I'd love to write scenes such as these over entire chapters, but then I sometimes worry that it is too much, even if I prefer them.

With that being said, I hope you all enjoyed!